A suspect in a shooting that left two people dead and five injured early Sunday in a historic neighborhood of Washington, D.C., remained on the loose and unidentified, according to police.

The shooting erupted around 3 a.m. at the intersection of 7th Street NW and P Street NW, about seven blocks east of Logan Circle and four blocks north of Mt. Vernon Square, police said. The shooting occurred near the Kennedy Recreation Center.

Law enforcement in Washington, D.C., were searching Sunday for a suspect who they said fled on foot following a deadly shooting.

“We’re asking anyone who may have any information related to this incident or may have witnessed it, to contact the Metropolitan Police Department,” Executive Assistant Chief Jeffrey Carrol said during a news conference Sunday morning.

Investigators were searching for a Black man with “average build, wearing light pants, blue shirt,” according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

“Last seen on foot southbound on 7th Street NW,” the department said. “DO NOT TAKE ACTION CALL 911.”

Carroll said officers called to the scene found seven adults, who had all been shot.

“The initial information that we have at this time is that a total of seven people were shot at this location, two of which have since been pronounced deceased,” Carroll said.

The names of the two people killed were being withheld by police pending notification of their relatives.

Carrol said the other shooting victims were hospitalized, but did not release information on their conditions.

A motive for the shooting remains under investigation, police said.

Sunday’s shooting came amid a 35% increase in homicides in Washington, D.C., this year compared to the same period in 2023, according to police department crime statistics. There were 274 homicides in all of 2023 in Washington, D.C., a 35% jump from 2022, according to the statistics.

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